


Confessions

by rememberflowers



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Confessions, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Langst, PTSD, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Shiro (Voltron) has PTSD, Social Anxiety, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Space Mom Allura (Voltron), Voltron, but NO Shallura, how do you do tags, langsty ish, major self projecting, minor depression, self projecting fic, shance, whoa did somebody say self projecting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2018-12-31 23:18:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12143277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rememberflowers/pseuds/rememberflowers
Summary: After an entire lifetime of battling his anxiety alone, Lance decides to open up to Shiro about it.





	1. Decision-making

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody I wrote this up last night so I'm posting it now! 
> 
> Please give constructive criticism in the comments, and leave kudos if it doesn't suck! 
> 
> Enjoy, and this will have two or three more parts added to it, depending on how far I want to take this. Who knows, it might turn into an actual fic! Depends on feedback, really.

   Everything would be fine, at first. He would be going along, cracking jokes and smiles and just feeling happy. He'd think, for a split-second, _maybe everything's okay now_. And then it would all be erased when someone said something that could even slightly be taken the wrong way.

   "Oh, but not you Lance, you have to stay here." _Right, because you think I'm going to mess everything up._

   "Wow, Lance, slow down, I can't understand you!" _What you really mean is you think I talk too fast, and you want me to shut up. You're just too scared to say it_.

   "What's wrong?" _You don't actually care, it's just pity. And if you cared about anything it's that I'm able to pilot Blue and form Voltron._

   Sometimes he'd mentally slap himself, and tell himself that they didn't actually think those things. He knew it was just him being anxious, anxiety, whatever you'd call it. The fact that whatever he had wasn't diagnosed amplified his nerves. What if he was just being ridiculous?

   But the thoughts never went away no matter how hard he tried, waiting in the shadows for something to trigger their release. And every time, Lance would try and push them away again, no matter how many times they returned.

   He knew he should tell Shiro, or somebody in charge about this. This could affect Voltron, and through Voltron, the fate of the literal universe. But the thought of telling anybody about it, this secret that he'd never told anyone? All the things that could go wrong constantly flashed through his head. What if Shiro decided he wasn't fit to pilot Blue? What if he treated Lance different? What if he told the team? What if, what if, what if. Those two words constantly broke him down, made him second-guess everything, and yet he let it happen.

    _What if what I have isn't even what I think it is, and they think I'm stupid or looking for attention?_

   So Lance didn't tell. He kept it bottled up, and hoped it would all go away. Of course, it didn't.

   He wished, not for the first time, that he could get a therapist, or medication of some kind. Lance cursed himself for all the opportunities he had back on Earth to find a therapist and get medication that he didn't take. He could have gone during lunch break at the Garrison. And what about that time when he was home alone for the week? He could have then, at least scheduled one or two sessions. It would have been so easy, and maybe he wouldn't be in the mess he is now.

   Because in space, there are no therapists. There is no professional doctor to diagnose what he has and give him medication for it. He refuses to consider an alien-doctor with alien-medication. No, it has to be someone from Earth. Someone who understood humans and would completely understand what he was going through, not some alien who just thought they understood, and gave him medication that accidentally killed him.

    _Though_ , Lance thought, _if they ever met me, they'd probably give me medication that kills just because._

   He stopped that train of thought before it went anywhere. Maybe he could pop down to Earth for a week, get a few sessions with a therapist, some medication to last him for years, then pop right back over to Voltron. But he knew that there was no way he could take a week off just for some mental thing. Allura would never allow it, not to mention he'd have to make up an excuse to go because he couldn't tell her what was really going on. He would never be able to tell Allura.

   Or anyone. Of course, he wanted to tell Shiro. If he were to tell anyone, it would be him. Allura was technically the leader, but she didn't really like Lance from what he'd observed. And he didn't blame her, why would she like someone like him?

   Keith hated him, Lance had no doubts about. And Lance hated him back. He thinks.

   Pidge didn't hate or dislike Lance, and Lance liked to think that she liked him quite a bit, but he also knew that Pidge was also awkward and didn't really know how to be comforting. He could trust her to keep a secret, yes, but telling her would only make his anxiety go haywire because she wouldn't respond properly.

   Hunk had his own issues to deal with, and frankly, Lance didn't want to tell him. Hunk knew him better than anyone on the team, and he just felt uncomfortable with telling the Yellow paladin. Hunk thought of Lance as the goofball, carefree, joke-cracking Lance, and it had to stay that way.

   Lance felt weird telling Coran. He couldn't explain it, but he didn't really want any pity from Coran. Truthfully, he was a little afraid that Coran would try to play therapist and then everybody would know.

   So, Shiro. His hero, the guy he looked up to. He would tell him. Of course, there were cons, but Lance could trust Shiro not to say anything to anybody else. He could trust Shiro not to treat him differently, and he could trust him to try and help.

   He had to tell him. He had to tell him. He had to tell him. Maybe if he thought it enough, he would actually do it. He had to tell him, he had to tell him, he had to tell him.

   Finally, Lance decided. Tomorrow they had nothing going on, just basic checks on the castle. He could catch Shiro alone and tell him then. He would. He would do it.

   Oh, crap. He was going to do it.

 


	2. The Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Here's the second chapter - please enjoy!
> 
> I'm new to this, but just in case (better safe than sorry), minor trigger warning for a minoR MINOR panic attack thing, and anxiety and stuff
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments - constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! :D

   Lance lay down in his bed that night with his heart pounding so hard he thought for a split second that he was going to have a literal heart attack. Every time he thought of telling Shiro, it would pound harder and he would start to shake. Worry ran grooves in his head as he tried every tactic he could think of to go to sleep.

   Using a bedtime sound app. Usually this worked, but he was too on-edge for even the waves crashing on the beach to calm him down. In fact, it made it worse, making him think of all the opportunities he had had in Cuba to find a therapist.

   Doing his nightly routine. That didn't work either, though he didn't expect it to. He did it too often for it to do any good.

   Reading a book. Except Lance had only one book, _Charlotte's Web_ , and he had read it so much that he now hated the story. _And it's a shame too_ , Lance reflected, _that was my favorite book as a kid._

   Writing. He had the utensils, the motivation, but nothing he wanted to write. And because it was on paper, it was harder to edit, and that would frustrate him and make everything worse.

   Eventually Lance gave up and left his room. He checked his watch, 2:34. Pidge would probably be the only one awake, and she would be doing something in her room, so he could have free roam of the castle.

   Taking a walk almost always calmed him down, and it didn't fail him this time. Halfway through the walk his heart-rate had gone back to normal, and all he could think about was his blessed, blessed solitude.

   He made a few more circles around the interior of the castle, taking all the time he needed. By the time he was back in his room, he knew that it would only take a few minutes for him to go to sleep. And he was right, because the moment he lay down in his bed, he fell asleep.

  
   The next morning Lance awoke, jittery with nervous energy. Today was the day that he was going to tell Shiro.

   He was nervous - in fact, he was already shaking - but he was also a bit excited. After almost eighteen years of keeping this a secret, he was going to tell someone. It was a bit overwhelming, but the thought of finally being able to get it out made his heart rise.

   It was a free day, so when he stepped out of his room he wasn't surprised to see Hunk in the kitchen, breakfast already prepared for everyone on the table. Everybody was already sitting down and eating, taking no notice of the boy that had just entered the room.

   He sat down and started eating in an attempt to distract himself from his thoughts, but it was to no avail. Lance's shaking had progressed so much that he could barely keep his hands still as he cut into the waffles set before him (they were green and didn't exactly taste like normal waffles, but Hunk still made them good). He was laser-focused on keeping his breathing normal, which only made it worse.

   When could he catch Shiro? Right after breakfast, then Lance could tell him. He had to do it. He had to tell him. He had to, he had to, he had to.

   He finished his breakfast and carried his plate to the castle sink, but when he returned Shiro was talking to Keith. He had probably finished his breakfast right after Lance had left, and no doubt Hunk had taken everyone's plates. _Except mine_ , Lance noted. It probably didn't mean anything - he had just finished with his breakfast earlier. _Nevermind that_ , he thought. _I have to focus on the task at hand._

   Lance took a deep, shaky breath and walked forward a little, standing next to Shiro and Keith. He mentally cursed himself when he realized that he was probably intruding in on their conversation. Keith would be angry with him and Shiro would probably chastise him. Realistically, he knew that probably wouldn't happen. Anxiously, he continued to watch the two converse, every once in a while taking a step backward to make sure he wasn't bothering them.

   Shiro finished talking to Keith, and with a nod of his head, dismissed the Red paladin.  
"Lance. What do you need?"

   Lance took a deep breath and focused his eyes on Shiro. "I wanted to talk to you abo-about something, alone?" He asked, hating the way it came out as a question. He hated everything about this, the way that he couldn't be confident in anything. He hated how it was so obvious - and yet, he'd hidden it for his entire life.

   He was either really good at keeping secrets, or everybody saw the signs but just didn't care enough about him.

   Shiro nodded, understanding flashing across his eyes. "Do you want to come to my room? We can talk there, and we won't be disturbed."

   Lance nodded gratefully, and followed Shiro to his room. When he stepped in, it was unsurprisingly barren. The one thing that did surprise Lance was the calendar hanging up on the wall. October 9th, 3022. Shiro was keeping track. Lance felt oddly comforted by the fact that his great leader missed Earth as well. It made the perfect image he'd created of the paladin fade a little bit, Shiro had flaws and weaknesses too.

"What's up, Lance?"

   Lance was reminded of why he came here, and he fiddled with his hands as he tried to think of a way to begin this speech. How exactly do you tell somebody you have social anxiety and possibly regular anxiety? Except it had never really been diagnosed - what if Shiro thought he was looking for attention?

   The calm that he had attained last night was of no help to him now. He was shaking (but surprisingly, less than he would have expected), and his heart was beginning to race. Here goes nothing. "Okay, so. Um. I kind of felt that you should know? Being the leader and all. Yeah." Lance said as he dug his nails in his arms. The pain grounded him, reminding him of exactly why he had come here. _Stay focused_. Shiro nodded at him to continue.

   "I-uh, I don't know, like, it's never been diagnosed or anything? Like it's not -ah, official." Lance was stumbling all over his words, another sure sign he was crumbling.

   "You got this," Shiro said, jokingly, encouragingly? Lance nodded, wincing. He had to get a grip on himself.

   "But... I think I have social anxiety? And regular anxiety. And on occasion, minor depression." Lance blurted out, digging his nails even further into his arm. Crap, he messed up. Crap, crap, crap. He shouldn't have done this. He's probably ruined Shiro's day.

   The crestfallen expression on Shiro's face said it all, Lance had just ruined his entire day. Lance stumbled backwards, hitting the wall. He shouldn't have tried to talk to Shiro about this. This was a mistake. "I-I'm so sorry," he squeaked. "I'm sorry. Sorry. Sorry, I'm so sorry."

   He had just ruined a rest day for Shiro. Lance was the worst person ever. Who did that? He was selfish. Annoying, above all. People only dragged him along because they didn't want to hurt his feelings. The thoughts came out of the shadows full-force, pouncing on weaknesses and taking control. He couldn't stop them. He was sorry, so sorry. He was-

   A hand on his shoulder surprised him, making him flinch. Lance looked up at Shiro, his train of thought completely crashed.

   "Lance, look at me."

   Lance did as Shiro said, looking him square in the eyes. He wasn't very good at reading people (he read into things too much, thank you social anxiety), but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Shiro was worried. About him. Not upset that his day had been ruined. The revelation surprised Lance, but Shiro wasn't finished talking.

   "Lance, I don't think any less of you because of this. I want you to know that everyone on the team loves you." Shiro said, voice calm but firm. Lance shook under Shiro's grip, and his breathing quickened.

   "Please understand that. Please. You're an asset to this team, Lance. Our Blue paladin. Our sharpshooter."

   The last sentence hit Lance full-force. Shiro had recognized him. As the team sharpshooter. _But it doesn't matter_ , Lance thought sadly, _he's just saying that_.

   "No. Lance, get out of that place in your head. I can see you going there. I mean everything I say, there are no hidden meanings," Shiro asserted, placing his other, metal hand on Lance's shoulder. The shock of cold sent a shiver through Lance's body, but the Cuban knew that Shiro wouldn't even notice due to how much he was shaking.

   "I c-can't help it," Lance said, voice cracking. Shiro was looking at him, urging him to continue, so he did. "It's almost uncontrollable. It just happens. It's happening now."

   "What are you thinking about, Lance?"

   Lance took a deep, shuddery breath. He didn't even think about his words as he plowed on. "I'm thinking that you're faking it. That I'm just another problem to deal with before you go on with your day. That I've ruined your day. That I don't actually matter to you, or really anyone, and you're going to walk away thinking 'wow, glad I got rid of that'. That you're gonna make me stop being a paladin until I have my issues together," Lance looked away, breaking eye contact. "The last one is the one that bothers me the most."

   The silence that followed after was short, and Lance was pretty sure he'd managed to scare Shiro off. He opened his mouth to apologize, started to squirm away, when he was met with the crushing arms of his leader.

   Shiro pulled him into a tight hug. "I would never, ever make you stop being Blue's paladin. Ever. Everything you're thinking right now is untrue. We all love you."

   Lance had promised himself last night that he wouldn't cry, but it seemed as if his tears were in a bottle, and Shiro had just uncapped it. He let a few tears fall. Tears of regret, happiness, but mostly? Tears of relief.

   Shiro held him as he cried, and Lance was dimly aware that he was getting his shirt wet with his tears. His nose wasn't running - thank gosh - it was stuffy, but Shiro was going to have to change shirts after this. His shaking had dissipated, only the occasional tremble here and there, and he was noticeably a lot calmer.

   Soon the Cuban's tears ebbed, and the only sounds were those of his occasional sniffs and the soft, encouraging whispers of Shiro. Lance stepped back a bit, wiping at his face. He was going to have to do a major skin-care session after this.

   "Thank you, Shiro," Lance whispered. A thought occurred to him, something he'd forgotten during the entire ordeal. "Please don't tell anyone."

   Shiro nodded his head in understanding. "I won't, I promise. But I'm not going to let you go without telling you that you have to get help."

   Lance shook his head regretfully. "I never told anyone, not even on Earth. I never got help, never got medication, nothing."

   "What does that have to do with now?"

   "We can't go back to Earth just to get medication for anxiety! It would take too much time off, not to mention it would eventually run out. And I'm not getting a space-therapist or taking any space-medication."

   "I see." Shiro looked deep in thought, and suddenly his face lit up. "We could all go over, just for a week. Pidge and Hunk could reconnect with their families, let them know what's up, I know Allura and Coran would love to take a tour, Keith could go with them, and then you and I could go get your medication."

   Lance shrugged half-heartedly. "I guess it could work. I don't know, you'd need a good excuse."

   "Don't worry," Shiro said. He looked almost like a kid with candy, Lance noted. It was a bit unnerving. "I've got a plan."

   He must have noticed the unsure expression on Lance's face, and knelt down to look at Lance in the eyes. "Trust me, Lance."

   Lance looked down at his leader. Shiro was doing this for him. The thought almost made Lance smile. He made his decision. "I will."

 


	3. The Convincing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jeremy shada; sometimes it's nice to do a whole lot of nothing!
> 
> me; im nothing can you do me
> 
> me; wait no please
> 
> me; why am i like this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for general anxiety 
> 
>  
> 
> Please enjoy!

   It's been almost a week since Lance's conversation with Shiro, and there's been no talk about going back to Earth. At all. Honestly, Lance wasn't surprised, just disappointed. He was really hoping for the opportunity.

   Lance wanted to ask about it, but his anxiety held him back so much that he knew he never would. He berated himself for being so dim; of course Shiro wouldn't do anything about it. He had way too much on his plate. Lance shouldn't have expected anything to happen. Honestly, Shiro had probably already forgotten.

   As he wiped away the dirt in between Blue's metal claws (Allura had insisted upon them cleaning their lions - something about a bonding exercise), he wondered if he would ever be normal. Would there ever be a time when he didn't panic on a regular basis? Would he ever be able to talk to someone honestly without worrying if they'd end up hating him or not?

   Honestly? He was sick and tired of it. He was tired of worrying so much he made himself sick. He was tired of waking up shaking in the middle of the night and not being able to form coherent thoughts. He was tired of not being able to hold a simple conversation without second-guessing and reading into everything. It was getting old.

   Blue let out a soft rumble, and it calmed him down a bit. Flashes of the team flying together went through his head, and he knew that it was her who was sharing them. She was trying to comfort him, show him that they were a team and loved him.

   It didn't help much. Combined with his horribly low self-esteem, his anxiety ruled over him like a corrupt king ruled over his servants. It was ridiculous, pathetic.

   Lance listened to the paladin's conversations, and couldn't help but think that if they actually did care about him, they'd bring him into the conversation. Somewhere in the back of his mind he recognized that it was his anxiety talking, but he didn't acknowledge the fact a whole lot.

   "Hey, Allura, when are we going to be done? I think I'm going to end up rubbing this space-metal off of Yellow if I continue," Hunk asked, taking off his bandana and shaking it out. He examined it for a second, the carefully tied it back on, careful not to tie any of his hair in it.

   "Yeah, Green's pretty clean by now," Pidge piped up, giving her lion a quick scruntinizing look. Her hair was dripping wet after an incident with Keith and the water-bucket. She was a pretty sorry sight, and Lance couldn't blame her for wanting to be done.

   Allura sighed. "Ten more - oh, what do you call it?"

   The Altaen princess had been trying to learn the terms that people on Earth used, just to make things easier for the paladins. Lance appreciated her effort, but they had all already learned the Altaen ways of saying things. Ticks, vargas, dobashes, he was pretty sure he had it down pat.

   "Seconds?" Pidge offered, a gleam in her eye. Leave it to her to try and trick Allura into leaving quicker.

   Allura shot the Green Paladin a frosty glare. "I'm not dense, Pidge. Those are the near-equivalent to our ticks. _Minutes_ , that's what it is. Ten Earth-minutes."

   Pidge sighed dramatically and sat back down, scrubbing at Green's claws half-heartedly. Lance could hear her muttering things under her breath, and judging from the look on Hunk's face, the girl's words weren't rated E for Everyone.

   Allura narrowed her eyes. "Unless you want me to make that ten more vargas."

   Pidge scrubbed a little bit faster.

   Shiro cleared his throat, eyebrow raised in the leader-way that Lance was pretty sure everyone who had ever been in command had adopted. "Allura, I have a question for you."

   Lance held his breath. Could Shiro be asking about a visit to Earth? Their free week was coming up, after all. It would only make sense. But what if he wasn't? He probably wasn't. Lance's brain ran a mile a minute, and he didn't even process that Allura had responded until Shiro began speaking again.

   "Well, it might be nice to go back to Earth for the free-week. We know for a fact that the Galra have no imminent plans thanks to Pidge's hacking of the system, and being able to revisit families would mean a lot to certain members on the team."

   Lance could cry. He was so close to crying, and after a quick glance around he saw that wasn't the only one. One look at Hunk's face and he could see that if Allura said yes, the Samoan teen would burst into tears. Pidge looked hopeful but skeptical. Keith looked relatively indifferent.

   A thoughtful look came across Allura's face. "I suppose it could work..." she mused, furrowing her brows. Lance held his breath, feeling so many emotions at once that he didn't know where to start. After this, he would have to thank Shiro.

   The tension in the room was thick as they waited to hear the verdict. Lance had already prepared an argument in his head for if she said no, and he could see Hunk was about to pull his puppy-dog face.

   Finally Allura sighed, looking Shiro in the eye. "I'll agree to it, on a few conditions."

   Lance could barely contain his excitement. He let out a loud whoop, Pidge quickly following suit. Hunk had started crying. Even Keith looked happy, a smile spread across the face usually shadowed with gloom.

   Allura raised a hand, effectively silencing the room. "I said on a few conditions. First off, only for a week. And if you agree to go, you must come back. Voltron is top priority."

   The team shrugged agreeably. Easy enough. It beat not being able to visit at all.

   "Second, you are not to speak of Voltron back on Earth. From what you've told me, Earth is quite strict when it comes to things, and you may be admitted to a mental ward. You will all be given new identities, Pidge will help me create fake I.Ds. You are only to reveal yourself to your close friends and families. Understood?"

   Lance nodded eagerly, not missing the wicked glint in Pidge's eye when Allura mentioned the fake I.Ds. The poor girl had way too much time on her hands. Not to mention the time she actually used a fake I.D and disguised herself as Pidge Gunderson to hide the fact that she was a girl. Granted, it was for good reasons, but still.

   "And finally, I want to go and look at the planet, and I'm sure Coran will want to as well. I want to see the place that you all are from. In Altean culture, we connected with other races because of our shapeshifting abilities. I wish to connect with Earth like my father did in the day of the Old Paladins."

   Three conditions, all of them easy as pie to follow. Lance could hardly believe his luck, tears streaming down his face as he smiled so wide it hurt. Hunk was sitting on the ground and crying, mumbling 'thank you' over and over again. Pidge looked overjoyed, and she quickly wiped a few tears away from under her glasses. Even Keith looked ecstatic. 

   Allura smiled a bit to herself and walked away, pleased with how things had gone. The other paladins ran up to Shiro, thanking him over and over again for bringing it up. Shiro looked a bit flustered when Hunk hugged him, nearly lifting the man off the ground.

   Lance watched the scene with a soft smile on his face. He didn't really want to interrupt, but he would definitely thank Shiro later. Catching Shiro's eyes, he gave a wide, happy smile. _Thank you_. He gave Blue a gentle pat and started to walk away.

   "Lance! Hold on."

   Lance whirled around to see Shiro, who had detached himself from a still-crying Hunk. Lance hadn't realized that his best frrend had missed Earth so much. He felt bad for not realizing it sooner, and made a mental note to apologize to Hunk later.

   "Yeah?"

   Shiro looked around, and Lance could see him making a decision. "Wait for me in my room, in four minutes. I want to talk about something with you."

   Lance gave a thumbs up and quickly left, ignoring the way his heart pounded. What if Shiro had decided not to get him therapy? Surely he had other stuff he wanted to do on Earth. That's what Shiro wanted to talk about. He was backing out of the deal.

   He took a deep breath, still shaking. What could Shiro want to talk about? It had to be about the therapy. He had to be cancelling it. He had to. Lance started to feel a bit sick, but immediately stopped his train of thought. He could not get lost in his mind like he usually did.

   He walked into Shiro's room and leaned against the wall, fighting his shaking limbs. He hated that he had no control over himself when this happened, that his hands and legs shook even when he was trying his best to keep them still.

   Breathe in and breathe out. It wasn't always that simple. Sure, it helped, and it did ground him a bit, but it was hard to think when you were panicking. He counted the seconds in his head. _One, two, three, four...._

   The door opened once he got to fifty-four, and Lance quickly pulled himself off the wall. He had calmed himself down to the point where he could function normally. He was still shaking, but it wasn't so noticeable now.

   Shiro walked in and smiled when he saw Lance, sitting down on the bed. "Come here and sit, Lance."

   Lance walked over, offering a weak smile back as he sat down. He waited for Shiro to speak as he tried not to sweat on his leader's bed.

   "So, we need a plan for your therapy."

   All of the tension in Lance's body was released, they were going to carry on with the plan after all. "Okay." He said, fidgeting with his fingers.

   "So what I'm thinking is I schedule two sessions and an appointment for medication as soon as we get there. Allura can change Gak into our American currency, so there's not going to be any problem with money. When you're not doing therapy, you can visit your family. I'll be with you, too."

   "Wait," Lance cut in, staring with his eyes wide at his leader. "You're going to be staying with me? The entire week?"

   Shiro shrugged and frowned. "Yes? I mean, I may leave for a bit one day to help Allura and Coran with whatever they're doing but mostly I'll be with you."

   "But why? Don't you have people you miss there, people you want to reconnect with?"

   Shiro sighed a bit. "No one I was close with. Matt and Keith were the only ones I really cared about, and they're both in space. I suppose I do have old friends, but it's better for them to believe me dead."

   Lance nodded, understanding the feeling. Having people believe you were dead for over two years, and then coming back and proving you're alive? It was enough to give someone a heart attack. Lance would have refrained from revisiting his family for those reasons, except he hadn't been gone as long as Shiro. And his family believed he was still alive (they were fighters, the McClain family), not to mention he missed them like crazy.

   "I mean, sounds good man," Lance smiled, albeit a wobbly one, but still a smile. He was still recovering from the panic that Shiro had sent him into. Poor, oblivious Shiro.

   "You okay there?"

   Maybe not that oblivious.

   Lance gave a thumbs up, the gesture seeming overused and meaningless. "Yeah, I was just freaking out before, but it's fine now. I've recovered."

   Shiro smiled, patting Lance on the back. "Good. And I'm glad we can get you help, it hurts me when I see you hurting."

   Lance had to duck his head so Shiro wouldn't see the off-blush on his cheeks. "Thanks," he murmured, awkwardly. "I'm glad that you don't hate me."

   "Trust me Lance, I could never hate you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the third chapter, I'm sorry it took so long! I got a bit lazy.
> 
> But good news, for those of you that don't hate this fanfic! I'm thinking about making this longer, instead of the originally planned four chapters. But I'm also warning you, I have a crapton of fanfic ideas that I'm going to want to write so I'll have a million things going on at once. 
> 
> Thank you and please leave comments because they are a writer's only fuel <3


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